Construction of New Amphibious Warship Begins

Fabrication has begun of the US Navy's LPD - 29,last of the LPD - 17 San Antonio-class Flight I amphibious transport dock ship.It is to be christened USS Richard M. McCool Jr,after a Medal of Honor winner and veteran of three wars.CAPT McCool received the Medal of Honor in 1945 for leading the effort to save his ship and her crew after a kamikaze attack in World War II.
Huntington Ingalls Industries is fabricating the warship in Pascagoula,Mississippi.The vessel is designed to transport US Marine Corps expeditionary units and brigades (up to around 720 troops) and their equipment,including  air cushion vehicles;amphibious assault vehicles;helicopters;and MV-22 Ospreys.The class is intended to support amphibious assault;special operations;and expeditionary warfare missions until about 2050.*
LPD - 28 and LPD - 29 are designated transition ships of the class.Flight II,formerly called LX (R),will consist of 13 ships,bringing the total to 26 ships for the entire class.Changes to the Flight II are relatively subtle,including the addition of Roller Doors for the Flight Deck Ramp and Hangar Doors;Traditional Stick Masts;an MV-22 Flight Deck Heating Structure;and an Open Upper Stern Gate.The alterations will not change the way most watches are stood,as these will stay the same at the ship operations level,according to program manager CAPT Brian Metcalf.*
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)

Orion Program's SLS Rocket Already Being Fabricated;Engine Test Soon

Some components of the Orion Program's new Space Launch System rocket are already being fabricated by a giant tool at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility,New Orleans.Parts of the rocket's engine section and the Core Stage are being welded by the Vertical Weld Center,a massive tool that is three stories high and weighs 150 tons.The barrel that holds the rocket's four RS-25 main engines was completed in November.The VWC will also weld barrel panels together to produce whole barrels for the SLS Core Stage's two pressurised tanks,intertank and forward skirt.*
The SLS will include components that were also part of the Space Shuttle system's hardware.For example,the RS-25 engine was also the Space Shuttle's main engine,and the SLS will utilise the same two solid rocket boosters that the Space Shuttle used as well.An engine firing test was planned to occur before year's end at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Hancock County,Mississippi.An RS-25 engine was placed on the A-1 Test Stand at the Center in November,awaiting final preparation and activation work.*
The Boeing SLS Core Stage contains the rocket's cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant for the main engines.The Core Stage will tower more than 200 feet high and have a diameter of 27.5 feet.*
A new engine controller is being produced for the RS-25 engines.The controller regulates valves that direct the flow of propellant to the engines,which determines the amount of thrust generated during an engine test.Propellant flow and engine thrust determine a spacecraft's speed and trajectory,NASA explains.The engine controller also regulates the engine's start-up sequence and shutdown sequence,critical to the proper operation of the sophisticated RS-25 engine under both normal and emergency conditions.)*
The RS-25 engine is a product of Aerojet Rocketdyne,a division of GenCorp.*
Boeing(BA),GenCorp(GY)

US Navy Ship Status Report

On December 1,2012,the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise(CVN 65) was inactivated at a ceremony in Norfolk,Virginia.The name of a new ship,which is to be a Gerald Ford class carrier,was announced the same day:Enterprise(CVN 80).
January 20,2012,the submarine USS Memphis(SSN 691) was decommissioned and stricken.The USS Chicago(SSN 721) shifted its homeport from Pear Harbor,Hawaii to Guam on April 19,2012.The USS Mississippi(SSN 782) was delivered from General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton,Connecticut on May 2,2012 and commissioned on June 2 in Pascagoula,Mississippi.It is homeported at Groton.
The USS Minnesota(SSN 783) was christened October 27 at Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding  in Newport News,Virginia,and launched on November 9.
The following names of submarines were announced April 13,2012:Illinois(SSN 786);Washington(SSN 787);Colorado(SSN 788);Indiana(SSN 789);and South Dakota(SSN 790).Delaware(SSN 791) was announced November 19.
The USS Maine(SSN 691) was damaged in an arson fire on May 23 while in drydock at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery,Maine.She is being repaired for around 450 million dollars.
The Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Michael Murphy(DDG 112) was commissioned October 6 in New York and is homeported at Pearl Harbor.The name of  destroyer John Finn(DDG 113) was announced February 15.Fabrication started September 3 at Huntington Ingalls Industries Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula,Mississippi.
Two other destroyer names were announced February 15,2012:Ralph Johnson(DDG 114) and Rafael Peralta(DDG 115).A construction contract for Thomas Hudner(DDG 116) was awarded February 28,2012 to Bath Iron Works,Maine.The name of Lyndon Johnson(DDG 1002) was announced April 16 and construction was started April 4,also at Bath Iron Works.
The sequestration budget crisis is not expected to halt construction of ships already under contract,according to Mike Petters,President and CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries.The real question is new contracts such as that for carrier Enterprise(CVN 80).
General Dynamics(GD),Huntington Ingalls Industries(HII)

9-11 Memorial Ship Christened

The USS Arlington(LPD 24)was christened on Saturday,24 March at Northrop Grumman Ingalls Operations in Pascagula,Mississippi.Sponsored by Mrs.Joyce Rumsfeld,wife of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld,the Arlington is an amphibious transport dock ship,and was built in honor of the 184 people killed when American Airlines Flight 77 was crashed into the side of the Pentagon on 9-11.
Sporting an advanced composite mast that is as tough as steel but much lighter,the ship has the mission of transporting and sustaining U.S. Marines and their equipment.She can carry a mix of helicopters and vertical take-off and landing fixed wing aircraft,as well as various landing craft,in addition to up to 800 Marines and their gear.
The USS New York(LPD 21),another 9-11 memorial vessel,is in the same San Antonio class as the Arlington,and is now in commission,or fully in service.A total of 11 of these ships are planned.They defend themselves with missiles,30mm guns and .50 caliber machine guns.
In the christening ceremony,Mrs.Rumsfeld broke a bottle of champagne on the new ship.At a later date,a commissioning ceremony is held,when the ship begins its life in the fleet.
Northrop Grumman is spinning off its shipbuilding division to form a separate company,which is to be called Huntington Ingalls Industries,with the U.S. Navy's consent.
Northrop Grumman(NOC)

A Great Marine

Jack Lucas,a U.S. Marine who won the Medal of Honor for his courage at Iwo Jima,died on 5 June in Hattiesburg,Mississippi.He was 80.In the course of battle,Mr.Lucas,then 17,threw himself on two hand grenades,shielding three other Marines from the explosion.In consequence,he carried grenade fragments in his body for the rest of his life.There were more than 250 pieces of shrapnel in him.He even had two pieces in his heart and six pieces in his brain.Mr.Lucas was an inspirational speaker and an acquaintance of presidents.President Harry S. Truman awarded him the Medal of Honor in 1945.